This is a $ 100 million business today !

Picture copyright AP.
There was a time before Hello Kitty and Emoticons and this is a hommage to Harvey Ball, the creator of the original Smiley, the round yellow face with two dots and a curved line. Ball, owner of a small advertising agency in Worcester, designed this simple icon in 1963 for an isurance company that needed a quirky idea to motivate their staff. Sold for 45 bucks initially  it sold over 50 million times on buttons, cups, etc. within the first decade of its existence. The problem : Ball never secured a copyright of his design. The design was later
slightly amended by a French guy, with copyright, and is now licensend to 400 companies in over 100 countries netting the company close to 100 million a year. Such a sad story around such a fun idea. AJ

And it takes pictures too...

A fantastic piece of technology for professional photographers who can actually understand and use this thing. For me this is a good example why complexity would scare me away (clearly not belonging to the target user of this sophisticated product). However - I like to challenge whether all this buttons, controls and menues are needed - even for the professional. Or have they been added to make it look 'professional' and thus create a more premium product category for the sophisticated user, or those that like to consider themselfs as such ?  Does complexity enhance value and does the choice of more functions increase the experience ? I believe a lot of non-professional photographers think so even though they would only use half of the functions (if at all) while paying a premium price for the equipment. Being seen with a device that creates an aura of professionalism may mean more to such consumers than the real added value the more premium product can deliver. What I am trying to say with this : Complexity actually helps to sell more products in some categories. AJ

Reverse valuation ? Or should it be called ?

Oh well... just wrote about skin being used for everyday items when I found this - leather bags resembling the appearance of cheap plastic bags (by 'cast of voices' A&R store). The 'luxury-fication' of trash so to speak or rather the re-interpretation of items we are not conscious of. Came across quite few samples of such design approach lately with table ware being inspired by styrofoam lunch boxes, vases looking like crumbled paper (which is older) and lighting products assembled from DIY piping. Turning anonymous by-products of our consumerism into hero products and this give them a new meaning. (AJ)
http://aplusrstore.com/product.php?id=759

Transmedia Design

Not for those with a weak heart : Oliver Goulet is a French transmedia artist who explores humanity as a species in the progress of disappearance. He imagines the mutation of the human body, the painful journey from egocentric individualism towards an optimal collective identification and networking ('The relic of bionic man, 2001, above). His other works include 'human hunting trophies' and 'skin bags' made of synthetic skin.
Quite disturbing to look at it shows how we are being thrown off balance by such thought of (fake) 'human skin' as a medium being used for everyday items, while we can easily accept to be accessorized with items using (real) skin of fellow beings. Interesting concept nevertheless (AJ)
http://goulet.free.fr/

And more on Insane...

Check out this website which shows the insanity of the destruction. When you see what nature can do in one single swipe, you wonder, what the hell were we humans thinking off? That we control this planet and it's moods? PJ

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/03/13/world/asia/satellite-photos-japan-before-and-after-tsunami.html

What if ?

all life was wiped off this planet by some giant galactic microwave tsunami (or something equally mindblowing destructive) ? Nothing left that contains DNA, cells, water, skin and bones, but dirt and the giant structures, machines we built, cars , iPhones and clothes remain. Would evolution happen all over again (which seems likely) and would it happen differently ? Or would our machines and our creations evolve into a lifeform of their own ? Could organic cells merge with micro components of devices left behind and 'control' them ? Thus creating some new form of hybrid organisms - half being, half machine. It would certainly not look like some walking electric shaver I imagine, but rather a complex structure that would spread like microfibers similar to the connected root system of mushrooms. Found this pic quite cool btw...expresses my theory of
new hybrid life after the abyss (Pic by Werner Bartsch). AJ

Computational architecture... huh ?

Too complex to understand for my small brain, but it looks amazing. The renderings above are the result of algorithms and computation to create architectural shapes and structures. As the creator, architect Michael Hansmeyer, explains on his website : 'This opens up a new role for algorithms as a design tool. As such, they provide the benefits of depth and breadth. On the one hand, their computational power can address processes with a scale and complexity that precludes a manual approach. On the other hand, algorithms can generate endless permutations of a scheme. A slight tweaking of either the input or the process leads to an instant adaptation of output. When combined with an evaluative function, they can be used to recursively optimize output on both a functional and aesthetic level.' (AJ)
Check out : http://www.michael-hansmeyer.com/